We've talked about it before: the number one strategy for slowing down the body's age-related deterioration is to not let our bodies fall into a routine. Whether it's diet, physical activity, or exercise, varying or surprising the body is the key.
Why train by Cycles?
Cycling is a technique that high-performance athletes have long applied to achieve excellence in events such as competitions, championships and even the Olympics. By understanding how it works, you can use this tool, not so that you can participate in a championship, but so that your sporting practice gives you the results you are looking for.
Cycling training is very interesting because it allows your body to adapt to the training, seeing how your body becomes stronger or more resistant, more toned and minimising the risk of injury.
How Does Training by Cycles Work?
Each complete cycle consists of three stages: macrocycle, mesocycle and micro cycle. It is a varied and flexible training method, and each stage changes according to duration or depending on the sport.
An athlete who wants to perform well in competition X, which would take place within a year (macrocycle), would focus on making monthly increases in strength and/or endurance (mesocycles), concentrating during each week on stimulating the muscles involved (micro cycles).
There are ways of increasing adaptation and strengthening, but it is clear that a strictly diagonal approach may be too demanding, making the person vulnerable to injury.
An undulating or incremental block scheme makes the training more bearable, provides more rest time for the muscle groups involved, better recovery, thus avoiding over-training or worse, injury.
How to Structure Your Exercise Plan to Get the Results You Want
Normal mortals like you and I can imagine wanting to get in shape for the Christmas holidays and making a monthly gradual or incremental undulatory plan through December to achieve your goal.
In this context, assuming you work out 3 or 4 times a week or even if you're going to start working out, here's an example if you're going to start weight training.
Strength training
People who have been training for a long time and especially in a gym attend several times a week, e.g. 3 times a week; and work out by muscle groups: glutes and legs on Monday; chest and back on Wednesday; shoulder and arms on Friday.
Beginners or people who have not exercised for a long time can start the first month with an adaptation that involves training the whole body every day, assuming three days a week at the gym.
During that first month of adaptation, you would attend the gym to perform 1 set of 20 or 2 sets of 20 and 15 repetitions of between twelve (12) and fifteen (15) exercises covering all muscle groups, i.e. about 4 leg and gluteus exercises, 4 for back and chest; 4 for shoulders and arms, plus abs and stretching.
After that month, it would fall into the category of training by muscle groups, so that each muscle group has enough recovery time, but be aware that this is where the cycles apply. Below is just one example of what a monthly strength workout might look like, although the same applies to cardiovascular training:
Week 1
|
Day |
Muscle Group |
Series
|
|
Monday |
Legs and glutes |
20-20 |
|
Wednesday |
Chest and back |
20-20 |
|
Friday |
Shoulders and arms |
20-20 |
In this week you would perform about 10-12 exercises for the corresponding muscle group each day, plus abdominal crunches and stretching (this is an estimate for 1 hour or 1.5 hours of training).
Week 2
|
Day |
Muscle Group |
Series
|
|
Monday |
Legs and glutes |
20-15 |
|
Wednesday |
Chest and back |
20-15 |
|
Friday |
Shoulders and arms |
20-15 |
In this week you could again perform about 10 exercises corresponding to each day's muscle group and add, in addition, abdominal exercises and stretching.
Week 3
|
Day |
Muscle Group |
Series
|
|
Monday |
Legs and glutes |
15-12-10 |
|
Wednesday |
Chest and back |
15-12-10 |
|
Friday |
Shoulders and arms |
15-12-10 |
This week, as there are more sets, you would do about 8 exercises depending on the muscle group you are working each day. Adding, in addition, abdominal crunches and a stretching session.
Week 4
|
Day |
Muscle Group |
Series
|
|
Monday |
Legs and glutes |
12-10-8 |
|
Wednesday |
Chest and back |
12-10-8 |
|
Friday |
Shoulders and arms |
12-10-8 |
In this week you would train with heavier weights, where the last three repetitions of each set are quite difficult to perform. You would do 6-8 exercises depending on the muscle group you are working that day and add abdominal crunches and stretching.
The above model is just a rough example of what you can do to improve your training, strengthen your muscles, tone them, gain cardio-respiratory endurance and generally get fitter whatever your goal.
How to Maximise the Results you Get from This Type of Training
The key word is still "strategy", so it's not a matter of just showing up at the gym to work out, or doing exercises with weights that don't push you hard enough or doing exercises with the wrong technique. For this, take the following tips into account:
- Take at least 20 minutes to warm up, either by walking on a treadmill, cycling, or doing some of the movements corresponding to the muscle group you are working that day and with very light weights.
- Learn to perform each exercise with the correct technique and maintaining the proper body posture.
- Perform the exercise with the relevant range of motion and when you reach the contraction, count 1 second and return in a controlled manner.
- Make sure that in each set of exercises the last three repetitions should be very difficult to perform. I don't know how much weight you lift so the way to make sure you are using the right weights is when you can barely perform the last few reps of each exercise. This is crucial because in this way you are stimulating the production of human growth hormone (HGH), which promotes the utilisation of body fat, activates your metabolism, improves your strength, endurance, and agility, and on a cognitive level, your memory, attention, and motivation. It also helps regulate your circadian rhythms, ensuring restful sleep and increased growth hormone production (yes, the highest volumes of growth hormone are produced during sleep).
- Take at least 5 minutes to stretch the muscles you use and relax your joints to reduce the chance of muscle retraction.
Training Progress
Once you have gone through your first month of muscle group training you can start week 5 with the same number of sets as in week 1. The increase in strength and/or endurance may not be as evident because, although the muscles respond more quickly to strength training, the joints need a little more. The key word here is "consistency", because as your muscles begin to tighten, your confidence to perform the exercises with proper technique grows and so does your production of the hormones that allow you to maintain your mood and motivation.
Special note for training women in sync with their moon or menstruation time
The way the training is laid out works for both men and women. However, because we go through a menstrual cycle, it is important to take this into account, listen to your body and synchronise it so that the workout delivers the results you are looking for.
For some women their menstruation goes unnoticed and will not interfere with their training. For others, on the other hand, it can be quite heavy and affect not only training but all their activities in general.
Train considering your Cycle:
Some research has found that strength training during the follicular phase produces a greater increase in muscle strength compared to training in the luteal phase. Oestrogen is higher in the follicular phase. This has a positive effect on mood, energy, and strength. Higher levels can also aid recovery.
During the first week of your period, it would be conducive for the body to train hard in this phase. You can start preparing for a training peak by increasing weights or sets. Towards the end of this phase, as you enter the second week of your cycle, ovulation occurs. In this phase, body strength reaches its peak. Ovulation is characterised by a sharp increase in hormones, including testosterone, so this may be the best time to reach strength Peak and push yourself to your maximum.
In general, the first half of your cycle (follicular phase) is ideal for strength training and high intensity cardio.
In the third week of your cycle and in the luteal phase you may notice that you get hungrier as your metabolism speeds up, towards the end of the week you may start to get period bloating and some PMS symptoms. We see a change in hormones which can increase the chance of injury due to changes in ligament laxity. At this time, it is important to pay special attention to warm-up before training and flexibility exercises.
Tips:
Perform the above strength training where the first week coincides with your moon time or menstruation. You can even do it lighter or simply rest. From the second week onwards focus on building your strength through training, nutrition and adequate sleep, so that you arrive strong in the fourth week.
The fourth week is a sensitive period because you have already built up enough strength, your weight has increased, but at the same time you are approaching the time of the moon or menstruation. Try to get plenty of rest between workouts, end each session with yoga poses that really relax the muscles and eat a lot of green leafy vegetables, such as salads and fibre. Also, good quality electrolytes, without sugar and making sure they contain a high concentration of potassium.
Training for Women in their Menopause
Likewise, as for the other groups, the training outlined above works for women who are experiencing their menopausal period. The only thing you need to take into account is the times when you are most sensitive, if you have hot periods or also periods of anxiety. These mood alterations could have to do with the production of the hormone cortisol.
Tips:
- Don't let training be a stressor. Do your best, but don't overdo it and permanently listen to your body.
- Alternate or try to end your workouts with relaxing yoga postures to keep your body in balance.
- At the end of your workout, take good quality electrolytes, without sugar and with good potassium concentrations.
- I also recommend supplementing with Ashwagandha, an adaptogen that among its benefits is that it is anxiolytic and will help you regulate mood alterations and improve the quality of your sleep at night. Here is the link to the video so you can learn more about Ashwagandha.